proposition 8 protest tomorrow evening

i will be protesting proposition 8 tomorrow.

i have been following this story obsessively since last week.

there are some things i cannot wrap my head around:

1.  the mormon church, with its history of polygamy has no right to talk about marriage.

2.  the idea that a lot of these religious folks are saying: “we don’t hate you.  we’re not taking any rights away from you.  you already have domestic partnerships.”  i respond with: “that sounds a lot like, ‘okay black people, we don’t hate you, you just get to have your own water fountain and a reserved seat on the back of the bus!”  domestic partnerships/civil unions are not marriage.  i had a domestic partnership here in nyc and it was in no way the same as my straight friends’ marriages.  if i was leaving ny state with my ex-partner and one of us fell ill, that domestic partnership does fuck all with helping us out in an emergency room situation.

3.  an analagous situation to religious groups blocking my right to marry is me blocking them from being able to go to church.  how would they like it if someone made it illegal for them to go to church?  it’s not like they were born christian.  they all “chose” to become christian.  why should they have any rights? 

4.  we don’t have to agree.  that’s fine.  i have no major religious yearnings.  i am not planning on going to church and urging anyone to accept my sexuality.  if and when i get married to another man, i highly doubt i’ll be demanding that it happens at st. patrick.  i believe we all have the right to pursue our lives as we see fit as long as no one hurts anyone else.  my sexuality has no direct effect on anyone else (except my partner, i hope!) someone praying hail marys or wearing magic underpants doesn’t affect me until they all go to the voting booths to make sure to write discriminatory language into the consitution.  there is a big difference.  the constitution is a secular document and it serves many people with many different forms of faith, not just the conservative christians.  there is no place in the secular world for religious or spiritual beliefs.  if there were, i would probably be lobbying for national yoga day and the right to not come into work if my tarot cards and astrology readings tell me to.

~ by Alejandro Morales on November 11, 2008.